World economic situation and China's new development pattern against background of COVID-19

The COVID pandemic has devastated the world economy, which has also caused serious slumps in Western developed countries. Although they have adopted "ultra-easy" monetary policy, the real economy did not emerge from recessions because of it and a global "liquidity bubble" was caused instead. The economic recession caused by the pandemic in developed countries may last for years. The governments of some countries in the United States and Europe have adopted strong state intervention methods to control the investment and trade behaviors of enterprises, then force them to "decouple" from China. Based on an objective analysis of the current international situation, China has actively taken countermeasures: on the one hand, it emphasizes mainly relying on the "domestic economic cycle" to maintain growth momentum. And on the other hand, it develops an "international economic cycle" that focus on China`s economy. Establishing a "dual circulation" new development pattern, in which domestic economic cycle plays a leading role while international economic cycle remains its extension and supplement, is a major strategic choice for achieving high-quality economic development.

Strengthening the historical ties between Serbia and Cyprus in view of 21st century challenges and opportunities in Europe: The elevated geostrategic position in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean, the common legacy of neutrality and future engagement

The foundations of the strong historical ties between Serbia and Cyprus lie on common struggles, dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly during the two great wars. Their long struggles against various aggressors, like the Ottoman Turks, Nazi Germany and British colonialism, have left long-lasting wounds on their societies, but also a legacy of bravery, resilience, perseverance and national pride. The deep friendship is also premised on common cultural and Orthodox roots, which helped the two peoples overcome major challenges and preserve their national identity and cultural values. This analysis explores the challenges ahead and assesses the new strategic partnership, including the trilateral cooperation between Serbia-Greece-Cyprus, particularly in light of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans and the volatile situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. The article also attempts to evaluate how the policy of neutrality, that both Yugoslavia and Cyprus have pursued as founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, would serve today the national interests of Serbia and Cyprus and, by extension, stability and security in their respective regions and the European continent at large, given their elevated geostrategic position.

Bri cooperation system: General framework and development path

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was brought up in 2013, a wide variety of mechanisms and platforms under its framework have sprung up, which actively led the initiative to a deeper and more practical fashion. OECD, WEF and other mechanisms and platforms with long-accumulated experience can inspire the initiative in building its cooperation system. In order to promote the system, we need to highlight the leading, professional, practical, popularity and justice-based characteristics of those mechanisms and platforms, to connect with which advanced ideas and institutions should be integrated dynamically into the process.

Elements of global superiority of The People's Republic of China in the 21st century

The Chinese state has existed for more than five thousand years and in the history of human society it has always presented its own specific civilizational attainment, which exerted a considerable influence on the Asian region. In the years since its creation on October 1, 1949, and especially in the last decade, New China has stepped out beyond the region of Asia onto the global scene. With its economic power and international development projects (amongst which the Belt and Road projects stands out), China has become a leader of development and the promoter of the idea of international cooperation in the interests of peace and security in the world and the protection of the future of mankind. This paper will attempt to delineate the elements of the development of the People's Republic of China in the 21st century, placing a special focus on the realization of the Belt and Road initiative and the results of the struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic, all of which have made China an essential factor in the power relations between great global forces and the resultant change of attitude of the United States of America and the European Union towards China. Namely, China has always been a large country in terms of the size of its territory and population, but it is in the 21st century that the PR of China has become a strong state with the status of a global power. Such results in the organization of society and the state, the promotion of new development ideas and the achievement of set goals, would not have been possible without the Communist Party of China, as the main ideological, integrative and organizational factor within Chinese society. In its activities, the Chinese state sublimates the experiences of China's past with an understanding of the present moment in the international community and the need of Chinese citizens to improve the quality of life and to ensure stable development of the country. The United States and the European Union are taking various measures to oppose the strengthening of the People's Republic of China. These include looking after their interests and preserving their position in the international community, while simultaneously trying, if possible, to avoid jeopardizing their economic cooperation with China.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics

The text speaks about the formation of the Communist Party of China, its beginnings and development, as well as the categorizations ever since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The new geopolitical reality has been explained, especially since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The argumentation is made about the peculiarities of Chinese history and modern development. The immeasurable importance of the Communist Party of China in governing the most populous country is pointed out. A short section on the relations between Serbia and China has been included. The conclusion highlights the general views encompassing most of the claims presented in the previous text.

The destruction of SFRY and Serbia

The paper recapitulates the process of the destruction of the Yugoslav state (SFRY and FRY). Special attention is given to the key factor in that process, the will of the West, embodied in the USA and the EC (EU), for whom the continued existence of Yugoslavia was no longer of geopolitical interest. The conferences on Yugoslavia, organized in Brussels and The Hague, were supposed to serve to legitimize this goal: the disappearance of Yugoslavia. The author points out that when the West did not manage to achieve its goal with political solutions, it involved NATO, through the aggression in 1999. Previously, Serbia's legitimate opposition to terrorist acts by the KLA on its territory, as an internal issue par excellence, was declared a threat to "peace and security in the world", and the UN Security Council took it as a permanent topic of its sessions. There had been secessionist uprisings and armed conflicts in UN member states before, as there are today, but the Security Council never before dared to violate the article of the UN Charter that states that these questions are the exclusive competence of the member state concerned. An exception was made only in the case of Serbia, although the defense against KLA terrorism was legal and limited to the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, i.e., the Yugoslav state border was never crossed. The false claim of William Walker, the head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo and Metohija, concerning the massacre in Racak, was the cause of the war of aggression against the FRY. By illegally naming the protectorate of Kosovo as the so-called state of the Albanian national minority, the West took this as the final stroke in the dismemberment of Yugoslavia and Serbia, thus ignoring the story of the phoenix rising from its ashes.

The international economic system in the historical process and China's role

The history of the construction and development of the international economic system can be traced back to the establishment of the Bretton Woods system at the end of World War II. After more than 70 years, the international economic system in different economic fields such as trade, finance and investment, as well as at the global and regional levels, has been continuously built, reformed and evolved, forming a scene of variety of current international economic system. During this period, China`s role in the international economic system has also experienced gradual changes, and has generally undergone a transformation from a bystander to a part trying to fit in, then to a participant, and finally a leader. The evolution of China`s role is not only the cause of the institutional changes in the international economic system, but also the outcome. They are complementary and closely related to each other. In the development of the international economic system, China has gradually moved from the periphery to the center, which is both an opportunity and a challenge for China.

Feedback between militant Islamism and right-wing extremism on the example of the migrant crisis

The ongoing long-term migrant crisis still significantly affects the geopolitical context of the European continent. Nevertheless, the numbers of migrants moving on the three migrant routes to Europe are much lower, but the consequences of these movements and the fragile stability on porous migrant routes call for caution. As for the consequences of this situation, they are numerous - demographic, cultural, economic, religious and others. In this paper, the relationship between militant Islamism, as one of the drivers of migration to Europe, and rightwing extremism on the soil of the oldest continent, is analyzed. Specifically, on the one hand the paper deals with the question of the extent to which these two forms of manifestation of political violence are antagonizing and exclusive. On the other hand, the extent to which they are characterized by a certain capillarity is explained. The mutual dependence shows the extent to which the strengthening of political Islam at the source, course and confluence of the migrant waves leads to the strengthening of far-right responses based on the narratives of (neo-)Christian Europe. Undoubtedly, militant political Islam has changed the image of the countries of the Islamic world, specifically in the regions of North Africa and the Middle East. Islamic societies which started the transition at the beginning of the Arab Spring did not suddenly "wake up" to find themselves in a democracy. On the contrary, the transition to more organized societies has been replaced by civil wars, i.e., the continuous instability and disintegration of already fragile institutions of the system. All this resulted in the economic and social devastation of these societies. The role of Islamists, especially their militant wings, as a tsunami that produced a strong wave of migrants to Europe, is significant. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that key players in the West, primarily the United States and the most powerful EU countries, also contributed greatly to this development. It is impossible that the crisis could not have been foreseen, that is, that interventionists did not know that effective democratization of these areas is a long-term process. The revolutionary introduction of democracy and the absence of assistance to those forces that could be called more or less democratic opened the door to those who have been biding their time - militant Islamists. The echoes of this development at the "source of migration" had a clear extremist equivalence at the "migrant confluence" - in Europe. The extremization of the European continent is marked in two ways. On the one side, with the wave of migrants there was a danger of strengthening the already established organizations of militant Islamism in Europe, and on the other side, there was an explosion of homegrown resistance to everything that has an Islamic connotation. Europe's far-right and extremist organizations have been given what they have wanted for years - an alibi for their anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views. Pandora's box has been opened.